Encounter at the Palace
by jodm
Summary: Two Steves. Two Dans. One wormhole. When parallel worlds collide, can things ever return to normal? A Five-0 - Five-O - Star Trek triple cross!


_Star Trek, Hawaii Five-O, and Hawaii Five-0 belong to others. I'm just beaming in to their universes!_

_This story was inspired by two Star Trek episodes: "Tomorrow is Yesterday" and "Mirror, Mirror" and by my curiosity about what might happen if Five-O met Five-0. My challenge: how would they react to one another? This short story explores one possibility. Beam us up, Scotty!_

**ENCOUNTER AT THE PALACE**

_**USS Enterprise, Stardate Unknown**_

The ion storm had been unusually rough, but Scotty had reported no significant damage. As a precaution, he was now running a complete diagnostic on his "wee bairns," as he called the powerful starship's warp engines. Bones had also reported only slight injuries and mild dizziness, Kirk looked to his bridge crew for more information.

"Keptin," Ensign Pavel Chekov said, his voice edged with worry, "We have a problem. We're not where we are supposed to be."

"And where are we, Mr. Chekov?"

"Earth," the young Russian officer replied, "But I can't locate Spacedock or Luna Station."

Lt. Uhura turned from the communications console. Her soft voice echoed Chekov's concern. "I can't raise Starfleet Headquarters, either. The only thing I can pick up are old-fashioned AM and FM radio signals. As far as I can tell, they indicate we're in 1970, Old Earth Date."

Kirk glanced at his Science Officer, who merely raised one eyebrow before replying in a preternaturally calm voice, "I would agree, Captain. Both the levels of atmospheric pollution and the number and types of satellites confirm Miss Uhura's findings. We have been thrown into the past." Spock's tone of voice darkened as he continued, "I detect other changes as well. That ion storm seems to have opened a rift between parallel universes, much like the time you and other crew members exchanged places with our counterparts in the Mirror Universe. With your permission, I will continue to analyze the data and formulate a working hypothesis.

"You do that, Mr. Spock," Kirk agreed, pinching the bridge of his nose. To the helmsman: "Mr. Sulu. High orbit, out of range of any spy satellites." Kirk barely acknowledged Sulu's "Aye, Aye, Captain." He felt a headache coming on. He hated time travel-and now a parallel universe on top of it. As usual, it was up to the _Enterprise_ to repair the damage.

_oooooooooo_

_**Honolulu, Hawaii, Spring 1970**_

Danny Williams sat down abruptly in one of the white chairs in his boss's office as a wave of dizziness left him feeling disoriented and vaguely uneasy. Steve seemed to have been similarly affected as well. The young detective nodded slightly at McGarrett's "You OK, Danno?" then added his own question. "What happened? For a few seconds it felt like everything was turned upside down and then flipped back to normal."

McGarrett was already checking with civil defense and his military and scientific contacts. "No answers, Danno. Just reports of mild dizziness affecting a number of people, possibly due to some kind of atmospheric disturbance. There seems to be no significant damage otherwise. Now let's get back to reviewing those hotel robberies."

Danny shook off the continued feeling that something, somehow, just wasn't right as he and Steve went back to work.

_oooooooooo _

Detective Danny Williams pressed his hand to his forehead and closed his eyes. "Whoa, there, SuperSEAL," the Jersey cop ranted. "You feel that?"

Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett, head of the Governor's Five-0 Task Force, put a hand on his partner's shoulder to steady the smaller man as he answered, "Yeah, Danny." He headed up the old koa wood staircase. "Let's get to HQ and check with Chin and Kono. Maybe they've picked up some reports."

The two men hurried up the stairs. Danny couldn't shake off the continued feeling that something, somehow just wasn't right. "Pineapple-infested hell hole," he muttered to himself as he tried to shrug off a recurring sense of disorientation and dizziness. "Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever get off this rock alive."

_ooooooooooo_

_**USS Enterprise, Stardate Unknown**_

"Captain," Spock looked up from the library computer, "I have been able to determine some of what has occurred."

Kirk heard the unspoken _"And you won't like it"_ in the Vulcan's voice. "The storm opened a narrowly-focused wormhole between two space-time continua," Spock continued. "It appears to have caught two individuals and brought them here to this point in time in the past of Earth's - our Earth's - history. A point in time, I should add, in which their counterparts exist, although I can detect no parallel movement across the continua."

"Location?" Kirk questioned.

"Honolulu, Hawaii. And it appears that we have only 12 hours, seven minutes, and 21.6 seconds to return them to their proper time and place."

"Twenty one point six seconds . . ." Kirk felt his headache worsen. Spock was right. He didn't like it. "So, as long as the wormhole remains open, we can return them to their own world?"

"That is correct, in theory."

"And in practice?"

"It is possible. We have done something similar in the past. We can make a high-velocity slingshot around the sun that can both intercept the wormhole and return us to our own time. Of course, it will take time to work the proper calculations and I will need Mr. Scott's engineering expertise. It may also be necessary to have all four of them on board the _Enterprise_ when we make the attempt, in case they have come in contact with one another."

"We can't just beam them up. We'll need to go down there. More chances to foul up two time streams!" Kirk's worry was evident in his frown. "Spock, you stay on board. We'll need those calculations ready to go ASAP - work out details with Sulu and Scotty. He may want some extra shielding for the warp engines." Hitting the communications key, the captain listened for the response _"Sickbay, McCoy here."_ He updated the ship's physician before saying, "Bones, meet me in the transporter room. Bring your medical kit. I don't know what we'll find down there."

A raspy voice answered, "What the . . .! Jim, you can't just beam in! This is a pre-warp society. The Prime Directive . . ."

"Just meet me in the transporter room." Kirk barked the order. "The ion storm already may have changed things. There are two individuals displaced from their universe. We've only got this one chance to put things back the way they should be. Five minutes, Doctor. Spock—get those coordinates to Mr. Kyle." He closed communications as he headed for the transporter room.

_ooooooooooo_

_**Honolulu, Hawaii, Spring 1970**_

McGarrett put down the report he'd been reading and studied his young second-in-command. Danny sat slumped in the chair, his face pale, something obviously wrong. "Danno!" Concern echoed in the lead detective's voice as he moved to his friend's side. "What's going on?"

"Don't know, Steve." Dan's voice was slurred. He pressed a hand to his forehead. "Dizzy . . . Sick. Something isn't right. It's like I'm here . . . and not here . . . at the same time."

"You're going to see Doc!" McGarrett was growing worried. "And I won't take 'no' for an answer." He buzzed Jenny. "Get Bergman. Tell him Danno's in trouble."

_ooooooooooo_

"Steven," Danny stared out one of the windows at the top of the staircase, "Take a look at this. I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." He rubbed his forehead as a stronger wave of dizziness threatened his balance, "In fact, I don't think we're in 2011 anymore."

The SEAL steadied his partner as he joined the shorter man at the window. Danny's Camaro was gone. So were Chin's and Kono's vehicles. In their place was a row of LTDs - clones of his dad's old car, the one he'd been working on. Only these didn't look old and in in need of repair. These were new. Something was wrong, very wrong. They definitely weren't in Kansas anymore. They were still in Hawaii - but _when_? And how?

McGarrett waited for Danny. The two men moved toward what should have been the door to their HQ and found themselves facing . . . themselves?

The SEAL stared at his counterpart: older, intense, focused. Not a man he'd want as an enemy. Himself, in another time? Or another world? And that younger man—could the curly-haired detective (he assumed the two were detectives) be Danny? His Danny and not his Danny at the same time? He shut his eyes for a split second and opened them to find that nothing had changed. Two Steves, two Dannys. One big problem.

The older detective scrutinized the dark-haired man facing him - himself, yet not himself. He felt a stirring of something. Could he call it memory? Yes and no. Memory, but not fully his: special, covert operations, yet none he'd participated in; a murdered father; unorthodox methods _(Dangling a suspect off the edge of a roof? Not on my watch!)_; Five-O, but not his. And the man with him, another Danno? No, not Danno-Danny. A guy with a hard edge of anger and cynicism, sadness and remorse so different from the attitudes, the friendship, the loyalty of the young man he called his brother, his aikane.

The young detective at his side pressed his hands to his forehead as the dizziness increased. He barely heard his boss' anxious "Danno!" as he murmured, "Steve . . . I can't . . . . I'm . . . from New Jersey? I'm divorced? I have a daughter? I'm from . . . _New Jersey?_ This is wrong!" He leaned on McGarrett for support. He faced his counterpart, sensing a similar confusion and disorientation. He felt himself beginning to fade, felt a danger of losing himself in another world not his own.

The Jersey detective leaned against the wall as the dizziness increased. He was born here? He was single? He surfed? He loved the beach? Steve McGarrett was his closest friend, almost a brother? This was so wrong. He hated this pineapple-infested hell hole. He was only here because of Grace. And he wasn't always sure of his partner's sanity. He closed his eyes tight. What kind of world had he dropped into?

_ooooooooo_

_**USS Enterprise, Stardate Unknown**_

McCoy was still grousing as he entered the transporter room. "Jim, we can't just beam down there. We don't know what or who we'll find. And scrambling their molecules to get them back to the ship! You've read some of the old science fiction novels from that era—they were sure that space monsters were just lurking out there ready to destroy the planet!"

"Bones!" Kirk signaled a stop to McCoy's rant. "Scans show only four men visible at our beam down point. We'll transport down in the neighboring corridor and approach quietly. If we can reason with them, so much the better. If not . . . we'll do whatever we have to get them up to the _Enterprise_."

"And just wait 'til they meet Spock," the doctor continued, oblivious to his Captain's impatience. "How are you going to explain that pointy-eared, green-blooded . . ."

The whine of the transporter put an end to McCoy's complaints.

The two men materialized in a shimmer of light and moved quietly towards the sound of voices, confused voices. They approached the four men standing near a door marked "Hawaii Five-O."

Kirk spoke softly, but with an edge of command. "Gentlemen, we need to talk."

"Jim," McCoy broke in abruptly as he scanned his medical tricorder. "We've got to get them to the ship now! If we don't," a shake of his head indicated the curly-haired detective, "this man could die!"

Kirk instinctively looked at the two dark-haired men. Both nodded as the captain opened his communicator. "Kirk to _Enterprise_. Emergency beam up to Sickbay NOW!"

Light sparkled around them; a brief disorientation, then the unfamiliar surroundings of the starship's sickbay. Gentle hands took the now unconscious Danno from the lead detective as others guided him to a biobed. Steve noted others assisting his counterpart. He tried to speak, to voice his anxiety, to discover what had happened and where they were. "Danno!"

A blond nurse touched his arm as she bade him to rest. "You're in our sickbay," she informed the worried detective as she waved an unknown instrument over his body. "You'll be fine. Dr. McCoy"—she indicated the blue-shirted man he'd seen earlier, a lifetime of strange experiences ago back at the Palace—"is taking good care of your friend."

"McCoy?" the confused officer questioned. "Where's Bergman?" McGarrett looked around, locating his younger counterpart. The man's face looked like a thundercloud; he no doubt had the same expression. The older detective wanted answers and he wanted them now. He needed to get to Danno.

Across the room, the Navy SEAL tried to throw off the medic assisting him. His "Tell me where we are and what the hell we're doing here!" brought few results. The blond nurse he'd noticed speaking to his counterpart turned her attention to him. "Just rest now," she admonished him. "Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock are on their way."

The title grounded the SEAL officer somewhat. "Captain" meant some sort of vessel. A navy ship? If so, how were they brought here? And why? But this didn't feel like any ship he was familiar with. The motion was wrong-as if they were moving through the heavens, not over water.

He looked around, trying to get some bearings. He noticed his counterpart doing the same. Could he have an ally in that man who was himself yet different? And what had happened to his partner? Danny. He had to find Danny!

"How are they, Bones?" The two team leaders turned at the sound. The man in the gold shirt-the older McGarrett noted the four captain's stripes on his sleeve-this was the man who'd brought them here. But why? And the tall, somber officer with him? The mysterious Mr. Spock? Not human, but _what_?

A tired-looking medic_-(Dr. McCoy, Steve guessed as he recognized the older man who'd delivered that chilling statement that Danno was dying)_-groused as he came into the main sickbay, "These two are OK; they weren't badly affected by the wormhole. The other two are stable, for now, but I'm gonna need some help pulling one of them out of the crossover effect. I'm a doctor, not a mind-reader!" Then, indicating the two leaders, he growled, "And they're gonna want some answers."

"Like who you are, where we are, how we got here, and what the hell happened!" The SEAL's hot anger bounced around the room like an exploding grenade, matched only by the volcanic outrage visible in the other McGarrett's body language and intense blue-grey eyes.

Kirk pinched the bridge of his nose as he attempted to relieve what had become an on-going headache. He motioned in the direction of McCoy's office. "In here, gentlemen, Spock. You, too, Bones." He allowed a moment for the men to join him, then began, "I'm Captain James T. Kirk. This is my First Officer, Mr. Spock. And before you ask, he's a Vulcan. That's a planet in the 40 Eridani system." Kirk noted startled look on the two detectives' faces as he went on, "Dr. Leonard McCoy, Chief Medical Officer. You're aboard the _USS Enterprise._"

"Navy?" This from the SEAL.

"Starfleet. This is a starship. We're . . .ah . . .from your future. An ion storm landed us here. It also brought you and your associates, Mr. . . ." Kirk waited for an answer.

"Steve McGarrett, Hawaii Five-O, and my second-in-command, Dan Williams. What about Danno?" The anxiety was apparent in McGarrett's voice.

The Captain looked at the other man. "Also Steve McGarrett," the SEAL supplied. "What happened to my partner, Detective Williams?" Neither man seemed overly surprised at the information they'd been given; in fact, the younger man felt that nothing could surprise him at this point. Kirk's revelation was hard enough to swallow.

At Kirk's signal, the Vulcan continued the story. "The ion storm also opened a tightly-focused wormhole-a kind of connection-between your universe and ours. It caught you and your partner," he indicated the SEAL, "and brought you here." Noting the growing concern in the two displaced men, Spock went on, "We have found a way to return you to your own worlds, but we have only a limited amount of time in which to do so."

Bones picked up the story. "You two suffered no physical effects besides some slight dizziness. However, your associates, especially Danno, seem to have been more sensitive to the wormhole's peculiar properties. Tell me, did either of you feel you had any psychological effects?"

Both men indicated that they had shared some impressions and vague memories, but nothing more specific.

"Unfortunately," the medical officer went on, "Danno and Danny seemed almost to read each other's minds, particularly Danno. I was able to bring him back to consciousness briefly; he recounted feeling as if he was wandering around in his counterpart's head. I'm going to need help to sort things out or he may never recover. Your help, Mr. Spock."

The two McGarretts exchanged a glance. "What kind of help?" They needed answers!

Spock seemed to read the doctor's thoughts. "A mind meld." There was no emotion in his deep voice.

"I want to see Danno! Now!" McGarrett's anxiety rocketed to almost heart-stopping levels.

"Enough!" Kirk's incisive tones held an edge of command. "Both of you may see your associates. And need I remind you that Dr. McCoy is my chief medical officer and Mr. Spock is my First Officer and my friend? I trust both of them with my life! You can trust them with your friends' lives." He shot a look at the Vulcan. "Continue, Spock."

"A mind meld is a joining of minds on both the conscious and unconscious levels. It would allow me to help your friend distinguish what is his true self from the transplanted memories now embedded in his mind." He glanced at the older detective. "I sense a strong bond of trust and brotherhood between you. It would therefore be helpful if you were present to provide reassurance. If you agree, I would like to attempt the meld as soon as possible. Mr. Williams will need to sleep for a time following the meld, but he should feel no ill effects."

Spock turned to the SEAL. "Dr. McCoy has already informed me that your associate did not experience the joining of minds to the same extent. A period of rest should be sufficient to restore him to health." The younger McGarrett nodded his thanks

The other detective's skepticism was evident. "You expect me to trust you with Danno's life? When I don't know you? Any of you?"

"A mind meld saved our lives," McCoy stated quietly.

"And restored me to sanity after the death of a woman I loved," Kirk added. "You can trust Spock," he repeated. "There's no one I trust more."

Steve searched the faces of the three Starfleet officers. "For Danno's sake," he reluctantly agreed. _"And mine."_

_ooooooooo_

"Danny! Good to see you back among the living!" The SEAL couldn't help grinning at the sight of his now awake partner.

"Yeah, but where?" the Jersey cop looked around, confusion written all over his face. "This doesn't look like any of the hospitals I've been a guest in since becoming your partner. You mind telling me where we are and how we got here? Last thing I remember was some sparkling lights."

"It's a long story," his partner began. "We're on a starship . . ." He quickly recounted the story, knowing he would soon be treated to an epic rant. He wasn't disappointed.

"Starship? Ion storms? Time travel? Mind melds? _Vulcans?_" Steve could hear the anxiety underlying the rant. "What is this, an old episode of _Space Patrol?_ All we need are bad guys with ray guns!"

"We've got them. You just haven't met them yet." The two men looked around at the shorter, intense man approaching them. "Captain James T. Kirk," he introduced himself. "Welcome to the _Enterprise._ We'll have you home soon."

McGarrett's look prevented the on-coming rant as Kirk began an explanation.

_ooooooooo_

Steve moved to the bed where Dan lay. The young officer was unconscious, but restless, losing himself in a history that belonged to another. McGarrett squeezed his friend's shoulder, then gently placed his hand on the younger man's arm, hoping his reassuring grip would help anchor Dan in reality. "I'm here, Danno," he murmured. "Stay with us, remember who you are, Aikane." The anxiety, the pain was evident in his voice as he continued to reassure his friend. "Trust us; you've got to trust us."

Spock moved closer and placed his long fingers on either side of the restless detective's face as he quietly spoke the words of the old Vulcan ritual. "My mind to your mind, my thoughts to your thoughts." Spock's calmness, his silence as the meld deepened seemed to restore a measure of calm to the distressed young man. Again, the words, "My mind to your mind, my thoughts to your thoughts," spoken with more strength, more insistence.

Steve watched as Spock's fingers exerted slightly more pressure. He could feel the power, the intensity, the searching that flowed from the Vulcan to his friend. _"What must Danno be feeling?" _Suddenly, as of a locked door had flown open, he knew. He saw, felt, Danno wandering in a maze of conflicting histories. He heard a voice-Danno's voice-call his name. He answered "Here! Grab my hand!" and reached out to his struggling friend, pulling him out of the whirlpool of memories that were not his own.

As suddenly as it began, the meld ended. Spock released his touch as Dan's blue eyes slowly opened and searched for his mentor, his friend. "St . . .Steve? What? . . .Where?"

"You're safe, Danno," McGarrett answered, relief evident in his voice. Time enough for explanations later. "I'll be here with you. Rest, now."

Dan grasped his boss's hand, murmuring a soft "Mahalo" as he drifted off to sleep.

McGarrett looked up as McCoy checked his patient. "He'll be fine, thanks to Mr. Spock. He just needs to sleep for a while." Steve smiled his gratitude.

"Thanks are also due to Mr. McGarrett," Spock answered. "I merely opened the door. Mr. McGarrett is the one who drew Officer Williams into reality. I simply provided the bridge. It is an uncommon occurrence, especially with non-Vulcans, but not unexpected with a strong bond of brotherhood." The Vulcan stood. "If you will excuse me, I must return to my station. We have only a short time before we begin our return journey."

A bit humbled at this confirmation of the bond between himself and the man he considered his brother, Steve could only offer his thanks.

"You should rest, too," McCoy addressed the lead detective. "A mind meld is never easy."

Steve smiled. "I'd rather stay with Danno. I don't want him to wake up alone in an unfamiliar place. But I could use some coffee."

"That I can take care of," the doctor chuckled.

_ooooooooo_

A slight movement jolted McGarrett out of a doze. He looked to find Danno awake and aware. He couldn't repress a smile as he greeted his friend. "Welcome back, Danno. For a while, I was afraid we'd lost you." He helped the officer to a sitting position as he answered the unspoken question. "You were trapped in someone else's thoughts, but we were able to bring you back."

Danny looked at his mentor and gently corrected him. "You brought me back, Steve. I heard you calling me. I was drowning and you pulled me out." Danny's words described Steve's experience of the mind meld. "There was someone else there, too. What happened?"

"It's a complicated story, Danno," McGarrett began tentatively. "If I hadn't experienced it, I don't know if I'd believe it myself." Dan's expression told him the younger man needed to hear the entire account, no matter how unbelievable.

Dan's eyes widened as his boss recounted the day's events. "You're right, Steve. If anyone else had told me this story, I'd call it science fiction! Starships, aliens, time travel, mind melds . . . and you say they can return us home?"

"That's right, young man," a new voice broke in. "Dr. Leonard McCoy, ship's chief medical officer." He handed the recovering officer a cup of juice with the command, "Drink this. Your blood sugar's a bit low." He waved a hypospray in Dan's direction. "Or would you rather . . ."

Dan recognized a needle when he saw one. He drank.

"Sounds like McCoy's been taking lessons from Doc Bergman," Steve commented under his breath.

Bones gave Dan a final check. "You're fine. Time to see the Captain and your counterparts."

Steve supported a still-wobbly Danny as the three made their way to the starship's briefing room. The day's events had been a lot to assimilate-and there was still more to come. McGarrett gave his friend a reassuring pat on the shoulder. They'd get through this together.

_ooooooooo_

The view of Earth from high orbit was stunning. And the star field! The SEAL couldn't find the words to describe it Even his partner was speechless. "Kind of overwhelming," was all he could say.

"It always is." The Captain's voice brought both men out of their reverie as Kirk continued, speaking more to himself, "Out there . . . the final frontier . . . strange new worlds to explore, new civilizations . . .to go where no one has gone before." He paused, then turned to the other men, "Your counterparts will be joining us shortly. We need a strategy session."

_ooooooooo_

Steve could sense Danno's tension as they entered the briefing room. He had to admit to a similar feeling. It wasn't everyday you'd meet your double, and from a parallel universe. And that view of deep space! Both men stared, awestruck.

"The final frontier," the SEAL echoed Kirk's words as he watched the newcomers.

McGarrett and Danno turned at the voice. The four men eyed one another warily. McGarrett broke the silence. "Us, but not us."

"Different world, different universe, different history, different time," the other McGarrett added.

"But the same mission." This from Danno. _"A benefit of sharing another mind," he thought. _

"And we have only a short time to return you to your own worlds and times and mission," Kirk spoke softly. "We will be making a high-velocity loop around the sun to achieve time warp," the Captain went on, then paused as he noted the confusion in four pairs of eyes, "Sorry," he continued. "The physics is a bit complicated. Mr. Spock has determined the precise times and coordinates to beam you down to your worlds. He will relay them to the transporter room."

"Transporter? Beam us down?" the Jersey cop questioned.

"You don't want to know," the curmudgeonly medical officer groused. "It's a matter-energy teleportation device that scrambles your molecules here and reassembles them there."

"And yes," Kirk answered the unasked question, "It's safe. That's how we got you to the ship." A look from the Captain forestalled any further comments from the medical officer. "I can't give you much more information-our technology is several centuries beyond yours-but I'll try to answer any questions you have." He concluded the session by informing the four that, due to the timing of the beam-downs, they would retain no memory of the day's events, perhaps only a few hazy impressions "It's a time paradox," he explained. "We've done this before."

Danno looked back at the star field. "That's one thing I'll be sorry not to remember; that and the help you gave us. Mahalo."

Kirk excused himself to return to the bridge and McCoy led the men to the transporter room. "We'll be starting our loop soon," he commented. "Then we'll get you home." He indicated a railing on the wall. "Better hang on. It's going to be a bumpy ride."

The Jersey cop turned to his counterpart. "You really like pineapple on pizza? And you surf?"

"Yes to both," the curly-haired detective grinned. "You should try it sometime." In a more serious tone, he added, "If your team is anything like ours, you have important work to do. You're partners-trust each other. If you can remember anything, remember that!"

_ooooooooo_

Back on the bridge, Kirk gave the order to increase to warp 4 and begin the nosedive around the sun. Sulu began counting off the rapid increase in speed as the _Enterprise_ rounded the star. At Spock's signal, the Captain contacted the transporter room. "Nearing the wormhole boundary now. Prepare to beam down on my mark." A second or two later, "Energize!"

"Sensors report beam down was successful," Spock reported. "Coming up on second beam down point now."

"Energize!" At Kirk's command, a sparkle of light sent Steve and Danno safely back to their world as the ship continued on its journey through space and time. James T. Kirk leaned back in his chair. "Mission accomplished! My thanks—and those of our guests, I'm sure—to all of you."

_ooooooooo_

Detective Danny Williams pressed his hand to his forehead and closed his eyes. "Whoa, there, SuperSEAL," the Jersey cop ranted. "You feel that?"

"Yeah," his partner responded. "Felt like a sudden change in air pressure. We must be due for a storm." Looking at his watch, he added, "It's long past noon. Want to get some lunch? I know this great pizza place . . ."

"Ya know," the Jersey cop replied, "I might even be tempted to try some of that ham and pineapple pizza. Gracie likes it, so it can't be all bad." He was coming to trust Steven in the big things at work, Maybe it was time to trust the guy in the little things, too. He wondered where that thought came from as he pictured a curly-haired young man reminding him that Five-0 had important work to do:

"You're partners. Trust each other."

_ooooooooo_

Danny Williams sat down abruptly in one of the white chairs in his boss's office as a wave of dizziness left him feeling slightly disoriented. Steve seemed to have been similarly affected as well. The young detective nodded slightly at McGarrett's "You OK, Danno?" then added his own question. "What happened? For a few seconds it felt like everything was turned upside down and then flipped back to normal."

"Must be a change in barometric pressure from the storm that's blowing in," McGarrett commented. "One more item on our 'to-do list.'"

Dan laughed. "Just a normal day for Five-O!" He shook his head at the fading memory of an infinite star field and wondered where the thought came from.

_ooooooooo_

Captain James T. Kirk looked around the bridge: Chekov proclaiming the glories of Moscow; Scotty fretting about his engines; Bones and Spock engaging in one of their on-going arguments. Back to normal—or at least back to what passed for normal on the _Enterprise. _ He settled comfortably into his chair and accessed the recording computer. "Captain's Log, Stardate 5293.4. We are enroute to Sherman's Planet. It seems they're having more trouble with tribbles."

_**Pau!**_

_Note: The mind melds mentioned by McCoy and Kirk are from the episodes "Specter of the Gun" and "The Paradise Syndrome."_

"_Space Patrol" was an early TV sci-fi show. It aired in the early 1950's, along with several other space operas, including "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet," and the granddaddy of them all, "Captain Video and His Video Rangers." And yes, I do remember watching them!_

_For more about tribbles, see the episodes "Trials and Tribble-ations" (Deep Space Nine) and "More Tribbles, More Troubles" (Star Trek—The Animated Series), and, of course, "The Trouble with Tribbles" from the original Trek. _


End file.
